Orion
by year of the fox
Summary: Zero continuously catches the new girl, another loner, doing things she shouldn't be. Zero, however, handles it in his own way and unintentionally makes a friend. Takes place right before series. Rated for some language and drug references. More inside
1. Trouble

**Disclaimer: I in no way, shape or form own Vampire Knight.**

**This is for Zero, since he just breaks my heart.**

**Though it can be read on its own, it is the prequel in my YGO fic (though the YGO is irrelevant in this). ****I was originally going to write this as a stand alone fic with a little punk-rock lesbian as my OC. It weirdly made the storyline a whole lot better if I continued to use my pre-established OC. It is relatively easy going and contains a platonic romance (a phrase that will make sense when read). As always, I love feedback to see how the story comes across to others. I just want to make this brief, so now read, review, & enjoy.**

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><p><em>This is so strange<em>, the new girl thought to herself. She had grown up on an island with private tutors until now. That and having a maniac for a father had probably inhibited her social skills, but this was just ridiculous. She had only been at Cross Academy a few days, but in those few days the giggles had gone from annoying to torturous. They were nonstop, and the slight withdrawals Jem was going through certainly did not help.

She was looking around at her new classroom, playing with the bow on her uniform as she did so. As she anxiously waited to be dismissed, she drowned out the sounds and thought about what had caused her to even be here in the first place.

Her twin brother and she had been sneaking out to the mainland city more and more. There, they would meet up with Jude's friends and go crazy. Well, as crazy as she could get, anyway. She had always only had her brother. He went to a school on the mainland (after their father lost interest and hope in him) while her father required her to stay home with some of the best tutors money could buy. Jude also had the friends, being the outgoing twin (who was also actually around people) and she just stayed with them. They were not the best influence on her, however, especially considering that she was only fifteen. She had come in one morning, still a little drunk from the night before, which her tutor reported to her father. He saw her downward spiral, and immediately enrolled her in a prestigious school to separate her from her brother.

"_Jemmea Lee Pegasus, this is unacceptable. You have so much potential and I will not let you throw it all away. Besides, I have big plans for you."_ That was the gist of what her father told her before he disclosed he would be sending her away to a boarding school. There, she would have no bad influences. At first she refused to go, afraid of being away from Jude, but her father said it was that or rehab, so she gave in.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard the rustle of her classmates and realized they had been dismissed. _Fucking finally, _she thought,_ I need a cigarette_. Jem gathered her books to her chest and wandered outside.

She walked through the woods a bit so she was away from the building. She came across the stables. It seemed like no one was around as she skimmed her surroundings, so she went and sat on the edge of the entrance. She lit up, then exhaled with a moan of relief.

"Smoking on school grounds is prohibited," she heard a disgruntled voice say from behind her. She promptly twisted around. A tall boy, surprisingly as pale as she was, stepped out from behind the white mare and stared at her. He was a part of her class, also in a black uniform. However, noticing the band on his arm, she realized he was a part of the disciplinary comity.

"Oh, bite me." Jem muttered as she turned away from him, upset she was losing the cigarette she had waited so long for. She bowed her head, her long platinum hair falling in her face as she put the cigarette out.

His eyes narrowed. "What did you just say to me?" he asked.

"I apologize," she huffed. She may have thought he was a power-seeking priss who just liked to tell others off, and therefore not listened to him, but she had noticed his tattoo and piercings. He was certainly the only one here she had seen with such modifications. It contradicted the pristine, goal-oriented image that she found a little superficial here, and his tone was not condescending at all. In fact, it was apparent to her that he had little desire to be in the position he was, and this was the only way the boy was able to earn her respect. She continued with her apology, "I am just anxious, I miss my twin brother. I have never been away from him before and I don't really know what to do without him. Meanwhile, I am trying to wean myself off these things, though mostly because I don't know how I will acquire more here."

But the boy had been taken aback when he heard her say 'twin brother.' Thoughts of Ichiru immediately raced through his mind.

A small brunette girl burst out of the bushes. "Zero! There you are! Come on, I can't do the switchover by myself!" When she jumped through the bushes she had slightly spooked the horse.

Zero comforted the mare, taking her long face in his hands and gently stroked her. "Shh, Lily. It's just her again. Nothing to get worked up over."

"What did you just say?" the girl challenged. Then she noticed Jemmea. "Oh- I didn't realize someone else was here. Hey, you're the new girl in our class. Welcome! I'm Yuuki." There was only one word to describe the way this girl looked, sounded, and behaved: cute.

"Hi," was all Jem said in response, not thinking to introduce herself.

As she did, Zero passed her. "It's time for you to go back to your dorm," Zero dictated over his shoulder, then turned to Yuuki and grabbed her by the arm. "Come on," he ordered, pulling her along.

Once they were out of sight, Jem took out her pack again and finished a cigarette before reluctantly heading back to the Sun Dorm.


	2. Squeals

Squeals, squeals, and more squeals.

Jemmea had heard enough squeals for a lifetime. It was Friday and class had ended, leaving Jem with not much to do.

"Come on," one girl said quietly and excitedly to her friends, "Let's go now! It will be our last chance to see them before the weekend!" The girls rushed off. Jem knew exactly who they were talking about: the night class boys. She knew this because her roommate was one of the girls who fawned over them. The girl would have other girls in their room all the time, and all they did was talk about these boys. They talked about them so much, their favorites, their names, what each looked like, blah blah blah, that Jem was sure she could name and identify all of them, even though she had never seen any of them in her life.

_Maybe I should see them,_ Jem thought. _If these boys are really all the girls say they are, then listening to them might be less painful if what they say is true. It's worth a shot, and it's not like I have anything else to do_. A few students loomed in the class a little longer to be spoken to by the teacher, including the guardians.

Jem followed the fangirls at a more than safe distance until she saw the convention of them at the gate to the Moon Dormitory. Jem found a decent sized rock at the side of the path, far from the commotion, and sat down. Again, she lit a cigarette as she waited for something to happen.

Yuuki, the brunette she had met yesterday, flew past her yelling at the girls. "Hey! Get back! Day class girls, it's time to go back to your dorms!" _Well, this could be more interesting than I thought_. Jem kept her eyes on the action, and therefore did not notice Zero saunter up next to her.

"Hey, what did I tell you?" he haphazardly reprimanded. Jem turned her head. She sighed, knowing what this was about. Zero held out his hand, "Give me your pack."

"Seriously?" she asked, but he said nothing and just continued to look at her, holding out his hand.

Jem sighed and reached into her pocket, retrieving her pack. She pulled it out and tossed it to him. He smoothly caught it, and in anticipation of his next remark she asked. "Can I just finish this one? It will be my last one, obviously..."

Zero pocket her pack as Yuuki cried, "Zero, what are you doing? I could really use your help over here!"

Having more important duties, Zero told Jem, "I suppose that would be fine," before turning away from her and going to help Yuuki. Jem crossed her legs and leaned forward, resting her forearm on her leg.

Yuuki struggled terribly, using literally all her force to keep the girls back on her side. On Zero's side, however, the girls waited anxiously, but did not so much as come up alongside Zero without him having to lift a finger. If any of the girls so much as leaned too far forward, all it took was a glare from Zero to to have them retract back into place. Until the gates opened.

For the first time, Jem saw the night class, and was disappointed to find that she could in fact identify the boys individually. The girls screamed, more daring to move closer past Zero and practically trampling Yuuki. The first thing Jem noticed was that their uniforms were different. She really liked them, and thought they looked much nicer and pristine than the day class uniforms. Though this could have only come across because of the way it was currently presented to her: poised white versus belligerent black.

The night class walked through the path created for them by the guardians, not paying any heed to the screaming girls. All except one, anyway. Jem did find them appealing, extremely appealing actually, but it was not because of their physical features. She instead was impressed by how much more put together and placid they were. She was the only one who seemed to carry these qualities in the day class. Then she saw Zero again, glaring at the night class, and realized that he was the only other exception in the day class.

As Jem finished her smoke, she saw that the night class was approaching, thus bringing the commotion with it. She dropped the cigarette to the ground and stepped on it as she got up, twisting her foot into the dirt. She turned on her heal and hastily walked away, not wanting to get any closer to the crowd.


	3. Transfer

"Idol's my favorite, he always has been!"

"I don't know, Kaname is just so mysterious! And the vice dorm president seems so sweet!"

This had been going on for hours on the other side of Jem's dorm room. The more it happened, the more she thought about the night class, too, but for entirely different reasons. Then she decided to go for it, she really had nothing to lose. Jem climbed down from her bed and slipped out the door. As it closed, she heard one of the girls ask, "Where's she going?" in a condescending tone. Jem then recognized her roommate's voice, "I don't know, she's so weird. So anyway..."

Jem just hoped this would work. It was late in the night as she made her way to the headmaster's office. When she found it, she knocked on the door. "Come in!" sang a cheery voice.

Jem opened the door slowly and slipped in. "Ah, Jemmea Pegasus. What brings you here? How has your transition been so far?"

"Actually, Headmaster, it has not been going well, which is what brings me here. All I want is to be left alone and in a professional environment, and I do not find that in the day class. I am here to ask for a transfer to the night class." She stood before him at his desk, her feet and hands together. She presented herself as best and as humbly as she could.

"Hmm," he said, his voice not as cheery now. He leaned back in his chair as he thought about how to handle the situation. "I'm sorry, but I simply cannot do that. Never before in the history of this school has a transfer been made from one class to another. I really am sorry, but that just is not an option."

"Please," Jem pleaded, "These girls are getting to me. I can't stand them and their constant giggles. It really feels like torture to me..."

"Again, I'm sorry," replied the headmaster, "but you will remain in the day class."

She bowed her head, and her posture sank with her heart. Then she heard the headmaster again, "Oh, Zero, did you want something?"

Jem slightly turned, looking at Zero out of the corner of her eye, beyond her mess of long downcast hair. He stood in the doorway, looking as though he had just witnessed something repulsive.

"No, nothing important," Zero responded unenthusiastically. He, however, kept his eyes on Jem.

"Oh, well that's good to hear. You have great timing Zero, will you walk Jemmea back to her room?" requested the headmaster.

"Yeah, sure," Zero agreed bitterly.

The headmaster addressed Jem. "All right, Jemmea. Zero will accompany you back. I do hope things improve for you." Then he leaned in towards her, as though he had a secret. Jem responded by leaning forward, too, over his desk. He spoke in a low voice, "And if those girls really are driving you crazy, there is one person they avoid at all costs, and he's standing and waiting for you right now." He sat back up, then his cheery voice returned, "Just a word of advice!"

Jem turned away gloomily. Zero backed out and held the door as she passed through. "Come on, let's go," he said gruffly. Jem followed him back to the dorm.

She was devastated by the news, and it was obvious as they walked back. This severely irritated Zero, more so because he hated the idea of anyone _wanting_ to join the night class. Between the two and their feelings, a tension grew that only Zero noticed as Jem kept thinking about what to do now. He finally said something. "You're better off staying in the day class."

She looked up at him, not quite expecting to hear this from him. Everyone else seemed to revere the night class, though each for their own reasons, so why would he be different? "Why? You can't try to convince me that those girls aren't harrowing."

"For as bad as they are," he narrowed his eyes and scoffed, "the night class is worse." He then observed her out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was not yet swayed. "Trust me."

She straightened up a little. "Fine."

"That actually worked?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah," she conceded. "I am still unhappy about having to stay with the same group, but I will take your word for it that the night class is no better." She looked at him sideways for a moment and saw that she hadn't really answered his question. "It must be your demeanor. So far, you seem to be the only person who I've found to have their head together. It doesn't leave me much choice now but to take your word for it."

They almost reached the top of the stairs of her floor when she pressed him to stop. "It's ok, I can manage from here," she said hastily.

He sensed it. "If I leave now, you're not going to go back to your room, are you?" he accused. She said nothing, shifting from one hip to the other, which only proved her guilt to him. "Come on, I'm going to make sure you get there."

He turned to go up the stairs and she sighed before she followed him. He did not walk her down the hall. Instead, he stood at the top of the stairs until he saw her stop before a door. She turned to see if he was still watching before opening it, and of course she only saw him transfixed on her, waiting patiently. For a last time, she sighed, then opened the door. She didn't turn back again, but as she disappeared, she raised a hand high in the air as a farewell.


	4. Notes

As Jem sat in class the next day, she studied her classmates. Her seat was at the back of the classroom, which made them easier to observe. A pair of girls in front of her were playing MASH, of course with the names of the night class boys in the 'husband' category. Jem watched for a little while, trying to understand how it worked since she had never encountered it before, as this was her first time having classmates.

Once she got the gist of it, she wasn't surprised. The only thing that she wondered about was how this could be going on in the highly regarded 'prestigious' school. Between the girls and this being the alternative Jem chose to rehab, she wondered how it could be considered such based on the student body. Obviously, they did not have a high standard for admission, probably just obscenely rich parents, that or they had an amazing turnaround rate. She doubted the last one. She was also having second thoughts on how infallible Zero's opinion had been. She glanced over at him.

He sat further down in the row in front of her, though currently, he slept further down in the row in front of her. _It must be from all the late nights on patrol_, Jem surmised. She looked to Yuuki to see if she enforced this theory. Yuuki, too, was asleep.

Jem looked down at her note paper, blank with the exception of doodles on the side. They were abstract, soft, swirly, and wispy. To Jem, they looked just like smoke. She had been craving cigarettes and it was getting bad. She looked back at Zero. _I wonder if he still has them. Maybe I could try and win them back from him, coax him with a trade. But what could I possibly have that he might want?_

Jem looked back down at the teacher as she thought about this. Then looked back to Zero, sleeping. _The only person I have ever seen him talk to is Yuuki, aside from barking at fangirls_. And Yuuki still slept too. Then Jem looked back at the teacher, and she had a thought. Suddenly, she was very attuned to the lesson, and writing everything she could down on paper. _With not being able to stay awake in class, he must struggle to keep up in school_, she concluded rather hopefully.

When it was time to leave, Jem wove her way through the woods until she found a quiet, secluded spot. She set down her things and sat next to them. She had found a spot next to a tree, on soft grass between the big roots. Leaning back against the rugged tree, she pulled out her notebook. She tore her notes out and looked around. She saw a rock that was about the size of a handful just out of reach. Rolling a little bit, she reached out to get it, then sat back against the tree. Once the loose notes were secured under the rock, Jem took out a pen and started to copy them. As she did, she was careful to make sure they were neat and legible. She also fleshed out her short hand and added titles and the date, and anything else she could remember about any particular note as she wrote them out.

When she was done, she tore the new notes out neatly, set them on the ground, then moved the rock on top of them. Next, she took her original notes and stuck them in her notebook before she closed it. Finally, she took the rock off her new notes and put the copy over her notebook before hugging them to her chest and standing.

The light was an orange color now as it was dusk—definitely past curfew. But to Jem, it was still way too early. Originally, Jem had planned on going to the stables first to see if Zero was there, since they were nearby, but she knew that once she met with him, she would be doomed to go back to the dorms. She turned and continued to walk through the woods a little, seeing the ocean past the trees. She soon came to a cliff with a few feet of clearance between the trees and the ledge. Not wanting to lose the papers, she gripped her things tighter to her chest as the ocean breeze came and swept through her hair, pushing it to one side. Jem closed her eyes and breathed in the pure salt air. She opened them again to see the ocean covered by the bright, multicolored sky.

She stood there, she didn't know how long, it could have been 10 minutes it could have been an hour. That place by the water was timeless. After however long, she finally convinced herself to turn back around and head for the stables to start looking for the guardian.

Luckily for her, Zero was there. At first she didn't see him. She walked all the way up and stood in the entrance again, looking past each horse and stretching her gaze to the far end of the stable. Just when she was about to give up, she heard from down beside her, "What are you doing here? It's past curfew."

She turned to see him lying in the hay. "Oh, there you are," she said blatantly.

He stood up. "What do you want?" he sighed as he leisurely began to walk towards her, his impressive height more apparent with each step.

"I have something for you." Jem loosened her grip on her belongings and looked down, grabbing the sheets. "I noticed you and Yuuki sleeping during class. It must be hard to know what's going on and keep up," she mentioned as she held the papers out to him.

"It certainly doesn't make it easier," he said cynically. He looked down at the papers to examine them more. "Wow, you really have everything here. These might actually be helpful-" he admitted as he reached out to take them.

With the flick of her wrist Jem drew them closer to her body and out out of his reach. "How helpful? Helpful enough for you to give me my cigarettes back?" she asked.

Zero lowered his arm. "So that's what this is about." He put his hands in his pockets. "I don't have them anymore."

Jem's shoulder's fell and her hand holding the notes dropped to her side. "Are you serious?" she asked, annoyed, then she had a thought and narrowed her eyes, "You didn't smoke them, did you?"

"No, I threw them in the ocean," he refuted.

She sighed and looked down, then regained herself. Looking up at him, she reached out and offered the papers to him again. "Well, here, you might as well take them anyway. I made them for you."

Zero looked down at the papers again. Indeed, she had taken the time to put these together for him, he realized as he noticed _Zero's Copy_ written at the top of the page next to the date.

He took them, and she did not draw back this time. Rolling them in his hand, he said, "All right, now let's get you back to your dorm."

"Really?" she asked, turning to look outside. "It's still light outside. You're not going to tell me that it's dangerous out here or something, are you?"

"Yes," he replied, "but mostly I don't believe that you'll actually go back. And besides, I can put these in my room."

They said nothing else as they started walking together. Once the Sun Dorm was in view, Jem sighed despairingly. Then she mentioned, "You said you were going to stop at your room while you were here, right? Could we make that stop first? Anything to delay having to go back to that room."

Zero didn't look at her, he just grumbled, "Fine, just stay near me."

They passed through the gates and started to veer towards the boys' dorm. Jem followed Zero silently through the doors and up the stairs. Eventually, they came to his room. As he walked in to put the notes on his desk, she leaned in the doorway. "Wow, you have a single?" she asked looking around. "Is this a part of the guardian deal?"

He hesitated briefly at her question, then answered, "Sure. Now let's go," and turned to leave.

Jem backed out of the doorway, letting him through. As he closed the door behind him, Jem started to pester him. "So what do you have to do to be a guardian?"

"Stay up all night, be hated by everyone, have to deal with the assholes in the night class, and have to listen to Yuuki boss you around and ask you personal questions all the time," he replied flatly.

"Oh," she responded. "So do you need any more people?"

He turned to her. "Does that really appeal to you?"

"Well, if you dislike it so much," she proposed, "then how about we switch tonight for a trial run? You stay in my room with the piglets, and I'll stay up running around outside all night. Then tomorrow, we'll have this conversation again." He simply sighed and continued to escort her. She interpreted aloud, "I'm choosing to take that as an 'I'll think about it.'"

He finally addressed her. "The headmaster feels it's a hard job and only feels comfortable leaving it to Yuuki and I because he's our father."

"Oh," Jem replied, surprised. "I didn't know you were his son, too. How come Yuuki has his name and you don't?"

"I'm adopted, he took me in after my family died in an attack," Zero responded pensively.

"Oh," she said softly, "I'm sorry."

Soon they reached the girls' dorm. Again, Jem tried to convince Zero to leave early. And again, he made sure to watch until she was closed in her room.


	5. Rocks

The next day during class, Jem noticed Zero was sleeping again. Swiftly, she took out her pen and opened her notebook to a blank page, then started to take notes. After class, she repeated the same process as before. She did this for the next few days whenever she saw Zero sleeping. After class, she would go find her spot, then locate Zero. He would sigh, take the notes, then walk her back to her dorm. This prolonged her trip back to her room, and she hoped that it would help her during the few times when he came across her after he had already walked her back.

She had taken to sneaking out at night, only to find a quiet spot in nature. One night Zero was on patrol, avoiding Yuuki and her nagging. He looked out over the scenery. From where he stood, he could see both dorms, lots of foliage, and the large rocks of the beach revealed by the low tide. As he watched over the grounds, he noticed a figure on the rocks. Even from far away, he could tell it was her from the black uniform and bright blonde hair. He had not seen her out for almost a week, but had never thought to check the rocks.

Swiftly enough, he made his way down to the beach. When he was close enough, he saw that she was reading. He stopped within a few feet of her. Without looking up, she sighed and said regretfully, "You still found me."

"You know, you're starting to become a real pain in my ass," he retorted.

"Mm. Maybe I'll become such a pain in your ass that you won't want to deal with me anymore, and will leave me alone entirely," she fantasized, still with her eyes on the book. She sat with her feet together on the downside of the ocean smoothed rock, book held against her bent knees. She seemed rather calm as she sat motionless, only her hair tossed in the wind and her chest rising rhythmically. Her heart at a slow beat.

He sighed and sat down next to her. She looked up. "Did that work? Have we reached that point already?" she asked hopefully.

"No, I'm going to walk you back to your dorm, but for now I'm just going to sit here a moment and take a short break," he replied. He sat with one leg outstretched, the other bent, and most of his weight resting on one arm. He lifted his other arm and covered his face with his hand, not feeling his best.

"How come you haven't taken me to the headmaster yet?" Jem questioned.

Zero removed his hand from his face and looked out at the ocean. "Because I can't fault you when your motive is to simply get away from those girls."

She finally closed her book and looked at the boy, who seemed to be relaxing a little. "It's the ocean air, isn't it? It's nice," Jem remarked as she closed her eyes, breathing in the breeze and feeling it brush against her. "I grew up on an island, and the one place I found solace was down at this beach. I would go there in the middle of the night, just like now."

"No, I just wanted a break from Yuuki, and I know you'll take any excuse to stay longer," he contradicted, disregarding her bit about the ocean.

"How come you're the one who always finds me? How come it's never Yuuki?" Jem inquired.

"Because she always patrols close to Kaname Kuran so she can gawk at him," Zero replied bitterly, then changed the subject. "You're reading."

"Yep. I don't have access to coffee or anything, so I just read like crazy to replace the cigarettes and try and fight these withdrawals," she responded, then added sweetly, "You wouldn't have happened to confiscate any from anyone else recently, would you?"

"No, God damn it," Zero replied. "I don't know why you insist on continuing with that filthy habit."

"Because I'm addicted," she answered simply, though he hadn't really asked a question. "I've done a lot of drugs in the presence of my brother, but that's the only one that stuck."

"Your twin brother?" Zero recalled.

"Yeah, why make the distinction?"

Zero hesitated a moment. "I'm a twin," he conceded. Every time she had mentioned her twin brother, Ichiru crossed his mind, something he could never relate to anyone about, even remotely.

"Oh yeah?" Jem asked, now realizing how it had affected him, "And the incident with your family-"

"Yes," he replied.

"I'm so sorry," Jem breathed before turning back to gaze at the ocean. "I don't know what I would do if something ever happened to Jude."

Zero didn't respond. He simply stood up after a minute and said grudgingly, "All right, time to go."


	6. Rain

It was downpouring. Jem stood dispirited under the covered walkway, just out of the reaches of the rain. She saw her female classmates running back to the Sun Dorm, screaming and squealing all the way. She was doomed to be trapped inside with them.

"What are you going to do now?" she heard from behind her.

She turned to see the man who matched the voice, Zero, standing there looking at her, his hands in his pockets. "I don't know. I was thinking about staying right here to copy them before trying to locate you," she responded.

"You don't need to do this for me, you know," he said flatly.

"I know," she replied, "but I've come to like it. It gives me something to do and actually makes me pay attention in class. Besides, it gives me an alternative activity at the end of the day to smoking."

"Well," started Zero, "on days like today the headmaster doesn't require Yuuki and I to be on patrol, just make a few rounds throughout the night." He stepped towards her. "Just give me your notes. I'll copy them and give them back to you."

Jem opened her notebook to the page and held it up. "You want to try to decipher _this_?" she asked.

Zero took the notebook from her and held it in one hand to examine it. "Wow, that's impressively messy," he taunted, almost seeming to laugh at her.

"Yeah, well the teacher talks fast," Jem returned. "As you would know should you have been awake."

Zero handed the notebook back to her. "Well, then come back to my room, I guess. It's cold out here and I don't want you catching pneumonia on my account."

"That's the best offer I've received since I arrived," she replied as she closed the notebook.

Zero looked at her then turned towards the rain. It was only the two of them now. "Ok, you ready?" he asked reluctantly.

Jem got herself ready, bending her knees and clutching her books, ready to take off. "Go!" she cried and the two took off running to the boys' dormitory.

Once they reached Zero's room, they kicked off their wet shoes at the door. He went over to his closet as she set the books down. "Here," he said, tossing her a towel.

"Thanks," she replied graciously as she rubbed her hair and face dry. Zero took off his blazer and hung it up, while Jem did the same and draped hers over the back of his desk chair. He also took off his vest and tie, finding a place for them as well. "What do you want me to do with this?" she asked, holding out the towel to him.

He didn't say anything, simply took it from her, holding it up briefly to his face and then doing a once-over on his hair. He then tossed it into a hamper that Jem had neglected to notice until now. Sitting on his bed, he moved back until he could sit against the wall, practically curled up with one knee up and the other falling to the side. Then he looked at her. "Well, are you going to sit or just stand there all day?" he contested.

She sat, a little away from him, facing him, with her knees bent and feet at her side. She took her notes out and placed them before her. "Ok," she said, looking them over. Her hair fell in ringlets around her face as she looked down, taking a foot in her hand absent-mindedly to play with as she read them over. "Would you like me to dictate or just copy them for you?"

"Well, if you don't mind..." answered Zero, knowing it would be much easier and cohesive that way.

"Not at all," she responded. She went through her daily routine of tearing the notes out and setting them next to the fresh page. As she would finish with one, she would set it aside. The first page she set aside Zero picked up and examined as she continued to work. After that, he had closed his eyes, his head resting against the wall. "Haven't you gotten enough sleep already today?" Jem asked without looking up.

She received no response. It was too quiet. She glanced up for a second, he was out. She tried to be more quiet and still as she turned back to her task.


	7. Favors

After she was long done with copying the notes and had finished her book, Jemmea decided to wake up Zero. She tried saying his name first, a few times at increasing volumes, but that didn't work. Next she leaned forward on her hands and knees, lifting one hand and gently touching his arm. "Zero?" she tried again. She started to slowly shake his shoulder, "Hey, wake up."

Finally, he stirred, bringing a hand to cover his face. She sat back and waited. "How long was I asleep?" he groaned.

"I don't know," she responded. "I finished the notes, then finished my book, and then I was bored. Even so, I wanted to just sit here and enjoy the peace, but I thought I should wake you up. If you sleep any more, you'll be up all night and just sleep through class again tomorrow." Then she waited quietly and patiently.

He opened his eyes and brought his hand down to the bed to help push himself off. He stood upright and went to his desk, where he pulled a watch out of a drawer. After he studied it, he said, "It's late, past seven."

"Oh wow," Jem replied. "I must have been really lost in that book, it's past dinner. I guess I did have over half left before I finished it."

Zero put the watch back and turned to her, putting his hands in his pockets. "I suppose you're hungry then."

"Well, yeah, actually," she confessed. Once again, he sighed as he turned away, walking to his closet. As he did, he took his hands from his pockets and removed his still semi-wet shirt, dropping it to the floor.

As he reached up in his closet, he addressed her without turning, "You're not going to bitch at me for taking my clothes off in front of you?"

She was taken aback. "What? For changing in your own room? Why?"

Zero found another shirt and put it on. It had long sleeves and fell loosely around his body. He turned to her. "Nothing, it's just what I'm used to. Now come with me," he finished as his hands again fell in his pockets and he began to walk out. Jem was quickly on her toes to follow him.

They walked together, both their mouths and stocking feet quiet. She stayed near as they walked to the far end of the hall, then down the stairs and entered the back of the building into the headmaster's area, connecting both the girls' and boys' dormitories.

Soon they reached the kitchen. As Zero entered, Jem stopped in the doorway and put her hands on the frame, looking around.

He opened the cupboards. "What do you want?" he asked. Everything Zero said to her was either nonchalant or with a slight irritation. Now it was simply nonchalant.

"What, are you going to cook for me?" she almost laughed.

He turned to her. "That was my plan."

"Oh," Jem responded, not expecting that yet slightly delighted. "Well," she started, coming into the room to sit down. "If you're cooking, make whatever you want."

Zero turned back to the cupboard. "Egg noodles it is," he said as she plopped down.

"Are those your favorite?" Jem asked after a moment.

"Yeah," replied Zero as he put water on to boil. They said nothing as he gathered together other items to add in. They sat in a comfortable silence (at least mostly comfortable, since it was still new) with only the sound of Zero cutting vegetables and water boiling. Zero's mind was on his task, and Jem's was content with her current alternative, unpredicted experience to being trapped in her room.

Once the meal was prepared, Zero split it into two bowls. He set them before their places as he sat down. She picked up her spoon and as soon as she brought some to her mouth, she quickly brought her spoon away and breathed in.

"Too hot?" Zero asked as he started to eat, completely unaffected.

"Yeah," she replied, setting her spoon down. She put her elbow on the table, her head in her hand, watching Zero as she waited patiently. "Why do men seem to be immune to hot food? My brother is the same way," she commented.

Just then, Yuuki burst in the room. "Zero! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you. We need to do a round." After she noticed Jem with him she blurted, "Huh?"

Zero, of course, never looked up at her. He simply sighed. Jem saw the confusion on her face and offered an explanation. "I lost track of time and missed dinner."

"Oh," replied Yuuki, a little settled as things came together, "Well how about you, Zero? Why weren't you at dinner?"

"I slept through it," replied Zero with the irritated infliction.

"Oh, well way to go Zero on looking out for the students at Cross Academy!" Yuuki cheered.

"You really are the headmaster's daughter," Jem said blatantly as Zero finished his last few bites. Yuuki looked at her with a quizzical look. Jem answered the look with, "You're both so cheerful."

"Ok, let's get this over with," Zero said, standing up and placing his bowl by the sink before she could respond. "I trust you'll find your way back to your room," he said to Jem over his shoulder, then addressed Yuuki, "Come on, I need to stop in my room and change first." And they disappeared.

"Ok-" was all Jem said as it all suddenly happened. It was quiet, and she turned her attention back down to her bowl, pushing the contents around and seeing what resurfaced as she waited for it to cool.

When Zero reached his room, Yuuki stood outside his door, talking through what they were going to do, so caught up as she looked down the hall while she spoke, "...and once we get outside, we're just going to make a dash for it, we can take a break at the gate if we need to..." But Zero noticed something else when he entered his room.

_She left all her stuff here_, he realized. He considered this as he changed, _Well, she's in the kitchen now and probably hasn't touched her food yet, and she's in no hurry. Yuuki and I will be gone a half hour at most. I'm sure she'll still be there when I get back. _He finished redressing and turned to Yuuki, ready to go.

In the kitchen, Jem realized that she had indeed left all her things in Zero's room. _Oh no_, she thought sarcastically to herself, _I guess I'll have to wait for Zero since I can't get back in my room_. She smiled and tried her meal again. It was ready. And it was good.

Zero did return within a half hour. He found her, still in the kitchen, putting the last dish up to dry. "Look!" she exclaimed, "I did the dishes!" Then she added, more quietly to herself as she turned back to look at them, "At least I think I did the dishes..."

"What," Zero scoffed, "have you never washed dishes before?"

She hesitated and turned her eyes down, "Well, no."

Then he realized, "You're from one of those obscenely rich families, aren't you?"

She just looked at him and said nothing, again proving her guilt to him. He was slightly surprised, based on what he knew about her and her habits. He walked over and picked up one of the dishes to examine it. "It looks clean," he commented. He set it back down and mocked, "I'm proud of you."

"Oh, shut up," she said, coming to life a little bit. She then pushed him towards the door, "Come on, you must know I left my stuff in your room." And then, "Ah, you're still soaking wet!" Zero was slightly amused as she quickly drew her hands back.

Once they reached his room, she put her shoes on then started to collect her notes. Zero picked up her blazer, about to hand it to her, when he noticed it was still wet, which he mentioned to her. He hooked his fingers under the collar and draped it over his shoulder. "I'll carry it for you, I'm already drenched."

"You're still going to walk me back? Do you really think that as soon as I leave I'm going to rush out into the rain and just hang out?" she implored.

"Like you said," he mentioned as he started to leave, her following his lead, "I should try and stay awake awhile so I'm not screwed over again tomorrow."

He walked her back, through the boys' dorm, through the headmaster's building, then through the back of the girls' dorm. For the first time, he walked her all the way to her door. He twirled the blazer down from his shoulder and extended it to her. "Thanks," she said as she took it and began to turn away.

"Wait," Zero dug in his front pocket. "While I was out on my round, I stopped at the library. You said you had finished your book, and that reading was helping with your cravings." He pulled out a book and extended it to her. She turned back to him slowly, tilting her head and studying the cover. '_White Fang_ by Jack London' she read. "I read it once and liked it enough, I thought maybe you would too. It's something, anyway."

Jem took the book from him and held it in her hands, studying it. She turned and went back into her room, bewitched by the promise of the book, not thinking to even look back at Zero. The door closed behind her and she dropped her things on the floor.

"Was that Zero?" one of the girls visiting whispered to another. "I think it was," Jem's roommate whispered back. They glared at her, but Jem didn't even notice as she kept her eyes on the book the whole time. She simply climbed on her bed, curled up against the wall, and started to read.


	8. Range

A couple weekends later, Zero was just about to leave when he heard a knock on his door. He opened it reluctantly to find Jem standing there, in normal clothes as he was, looking around. She hugged her notes to her chest, then promptly turned to Zero when she heard the door open.

"What do you want?" he sighed. She was closer up to him, since she was wearing heels. _Why would any girl wear heels at noon on Sunday?_ Zero accused in his head. Though, honestly, it was a nice change for him to tower less over someone.

"I'm trying to study for the test, want to study with me?" she asked.

"The geometry test?" She nodded as he continued, "Why do you need me for that?"

"Because you're the only one the girls avoid, and they're driving me crazy. I can't concentrate," she answered.

"Why don't you try the library or something?" he objected.

"One step ahead of you. They are there too, giggling. I even tried to stay because it's not _as_ bad, but then there are the boys to deal with. They're all starved for attention. They come talk to any girl who is not in a little clique fawning over the night class boys," she informed him. Then stressed, "And I _hate_ when people talk to me."

He uttered, "Well, I was just about to leave so you'll have to wait. I mean, unless you want to go to target practice with m-"

"Ok," she interrupted. He was slightly displeased, thinking that she would be dissuaded by this and he would have some solitary time shooting things.

"All right then," he huffed, "follow me."

Jem followed him back into the headmaster's building, and eventually into the basement target practice room.

"I had no idea this was here," Jem said, a little in awe. Why the hell was a shooting range hidden on a prestigious school campus?

"Well, that's the idea," returned Zero. He would have told her not to tell anybody, except he knew she already didn't speak to anyone.

He went over to prepare the weaponry as she sat on one of the counters at a station, putting her feet up on a nearby chair. As Zero came up to the slot next to her, he tossed her a headset to protect her ears, though he did not have one himself. She placed them around her neck until he was ready to shoot.

"Get ready," was the only warning he gave, though he did wait for her to cover her ears before he took a shot. And there it was, bullseye on the first, second, third shot. Then he took a break.

Jem pushed the band back behind one ear so she could talk to him. "So, you're a good shot," she complimented.

"Cover your ears again," he told her, raising the gun again.

She did as he instructed and he opened fire. There was the outline of a man on the target face, which Zero now gave two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. The target now slightly resembled a snowman.

"Can you make a star?" she asked as he reloaded the gun. Zero didn't say anything, he simply shot a star into the target. Once he had, the shape fell off and floated to the ground.

"A spiral?" she requested. Zero moved down a space to a fresh target, then shot out a spiral, the shape also spiraling towards the ground, dangling from the target once he finished.

"A cat?" she challenged. Zero shot out a cat. Jem tilted her head to look at it.

"It would have come out better if I could actually draw a decent cat," Zero commented.

"How about..." Jem looked down at the notes in her lap for inspiration, "an obtuse scalene triangle." Soon an obtuse scalene triangle floated to the ground. She continued, "a right trapezoid...a concave kite." Zero shot out all the shapes as she listed them. "No," she corrected, "that's a convex kite, a concave kite-" but Zero had already started shooting another to fix his mistake.

"I'm impressed," she said. "Now how about a challenge? Make me an equilateral triangle." Zero did just that, counting out the bullets.

"I wasn't 100% sure I was going to get that one," Zero commented, "the angles were tricky to estimate evenly."

"But you got it," she praised. "Now how about an octagon?"

Zero again shot out the shape. "It has eight sides, but it's not quite even..." she commented, looking it over.

"You never said a regular octagon."

"Touche," she conceded. "It seems you don't need any practice shooting or studying for the test."

"Who said I did?" Zero contested as he again reloaded. He held the gun up and starting to shoot lines to take out corners and other designs of his choosing. Jem watched silently, feeling surprisingly at ease for listening to constant gunfire.


	9. Offer

"What do you have for me today?" Zero had started selecting classics for Jem to read, which she would finish in a day or two, then go ask him for more.

"Why can't you just go to the library?" Zero asked as he handed her George Orwell's _1984_.

"Because, I've told you, people _talk_ to me. And besides, I get overwhelmed. I just want to read them all, but you have a good eye for what I like," she answered as she took the book from Zero and started to look it over. Then she looked up to the sky, knowing she now had to go back to her dorm. "Why couldn't it have rained today?" she complained.

The two were out of class and walking side by side back to the Sun Dorm. They had established a habit where Jem would find a quiet place and copy her notes when Zero did the switchover, then they would meet up. Together they would go to Zero's room to drop off the notes, then he would walk her back to her room. He did this everyday, because he knew the day he didn't would be the day she thought she could get away with being exactly where she wasn't supposed to be.

"You actually _want_ it to rain?" he asked, enjoying the sunshine.

"Only because I might be able to stay with you and avoid my room a little longer," she mumbled. "My roommate has gotten so much worse, and now we've started to bicker," she divulged.

"Look," sighed Zero, stopping and turning to her. She, of course, immediately stopped too. "Do you just want to stay in my room while I'm on patrol?"

Her eyes widened and she grabbed his sleeve inattentively, "What? Really? Do you really mean it?" she stammered, her hopes way too high.

"Yeah," he said, "no one will bother you there, so I know you won't leave. And then when I come back from patrol you can go back to your room, and your roommate should be asleep by then."

She just looked at him, completely bewildered and overjoyed, and then she clung to him. She wrapped both her arms all the way around him, trapping his arms and squeezing him just a little too tight. "Thank you," she breathed a sigh of relief. "You don't know what this means to me."

Zero was taken aback, and did not quite know how to handle this. He, however, was strangely not opposed to the moment. She drew back, "All right, ok, sorry. Let's go!" And then she was off at a faster pace than he had yet seen from her.

He simply followed her back, mostly sure he had made the right decision.


	10. Valentine

"Who are you giving your chocolates to?" "Akotski!" Giggles.

Jem had not prepared herself for how much worse the night class craze would get when Valentine's Day came around. This was partially due to the fact that she had not bothered to pay attention to the date. She was just doing her best to keep it together. Valentine's Day was tomorrow, she just had to make it until then.

She was currently in class, scratching at the corner of her paper, slowly turning the margin black as she slumped forward, leaning against one arm. She glanced over at Zero. He was awake, and looked as irritated as she was. In fact, he looked a little angry and seemed to be scolding Yuuki, though this wasn't terribly uncommon.

Jem had already received chocolates. A small package had come in the mail from her brother, which of course made her smile. She reached into her pocket and took one out to eat. Her brother had good taste, they were delicious and high quality. The girls in front of her continued to giggle. Then she heard Zero as one of the names listed. She had heard this a few times now, all from different girls. She glanced over at Zero, who had heard his name this time. He was glaring at the group out of the corner of his eye, his teeth bared.

Jem saw his overly oppositional reaction, then looked down at the wrapper in her hand. She had an idea, and smiled as she looked back up at Zero, unnoticed.

After class, she caught Yuuki alone before they went to the switchover. "Hey Yuuki, I'm sorry to bother you, but my brother sent me some chocolates and I would really like to call and thank him. The only time I know he'll be home is now. Could you help me get to a phone? It would just be a quick call, and it would mean a lot to me."

Yuuki hesitated, but having the big heart that she did, couldn't say no. "All right, I'll take you to the headmaster's office, but quickly." They hurried together, and when they reached the office, the headmaster was not there. "Ok, you can use the phone, but then go straight back to your dorm. I have to go because today is an especially important day to supervise the switchover," Yuuki explained.

"Thank you so much," Jem said courteously as Yuuki ran off.

Jem went over to the phone and picked it up. She took the wrapper from earlier out, then dialed the number in small print. After a few minutes, she was put through. "Hello, I was hoping to order some chocolate and have it be delivered to Cross Academy tomorrow evening around 6. Is that possible?"

"Yeah," said the man on the other end of the line. "We should be able to do that. How much do you want?"

"A ton," she responded.

"You're going to have to be way more specific than that, hun," the man replied.

"Ok," Jem remembered the exact amounts from her math test last week. "One ton, or 2000 pounds, or 32000 ounces-"

"Ok yeah yeah yeah, I get it. You want a ton of chocolate."

"Can you be more specific?" Jem asked. "I want to make sure you have my order right."

Once she had that all sorted out, Jem ran back to the place where she usually met Zero. She felt bad not actually calling Jude, but there was no such thing as a short phone call with him. Since she stayed in Zero's room now, she had taken to recording her notes when she got there. As she waited for Zero, she would now take the time to read in the afternoon air.

He showed up a little later than usual today. "Come on," he snapped, clearly more irritated than normal. His state only made her more excited for tomorrow.

* * *

><p>At about six o'clock on Valentine's Day, Jem unlocked Zero's door from the inside and headed down to the front of the building. As she went to meet the truck, she continued to wonder how she would get a ton of chocolate up to Zero's room. As she came down the last set of stairs, she found her answer.<p>

A group of day class boys had congregated, moping around about how they had not received anything. They were surprised to see Jem, as she always stayed in Zero's room and came out only after everyone was asleep, and it was rare to see a girl in the boys' dorm, but perked up when they did. As it was Valentine's Day, they were more starved for attention than usual. "Hi," one of them said in wonderment as she descended the stairs, slowing down.

"Hi," she replied, "um, would you boys mind doing me a favor?" That's all she had to say—they all eagerly agreed without her having to bat her eyes once. It was bad. "Come on," she said and led the way.

The truck was just pulling up as they went outside. The driver hopped out. "I have a ton of chocolate for a Jemmea Lee," he announced.

"That's me," she declared before she signed the form. She then turned to the boys. "I need you to help me carry this up to Zero's room." Their hearts sank once they heard this. "Don't worry," added Jem, grabbing the first batch of chocolate, "I'm sure if you ask him tomorrow, he'll share." The boys reluctantly complied.

They were able to successfully fit all of the chocolate into Zero's room. With each trip they made, more boys curiously joined in to help. A little before it was time for Zero to get back, Jem saw herself out. She was only slightly afraid that he might shoot her should she be there when he discovered it, despite how badly she wanted to see his reaction.

Zero came back from patrol. He opened his door and aggravatingly commanded, "Ok Jemmea, let's-" then he froze. Jem was nowhere to be seen, just mounds and mounds of nicely wrapped chocolate. He noticed something on his bed, which was practically the only open space in his room. On top of the daily notes, Jem had left a cut out heart. All it said was:

_THIS MUCH xoxohaha  
>–Jem<em>


	11. Mea

Jem sat waiting the next day at her spot for Zero, nervous. She had not considered what repercussions might come of her stunt, a result of spending too much time with Jude. She couldn't even read, she was too nervous that Zero would just send her back to her room.

She pulled at her skirt, constantly glancing in the direction Zero usually came from. When she finally saw him, she stood up quickly and anxiously, holding her books tightly against her chest, partially as a defense. When he was close enough, he stopped and put his hands in his pockets. Looking at her, he sighed, in a very what-am-I-going-to-do-with-you sort of way. "Do you mind telling me why the boys in my dorm all stopped by my room to ask for chocolate this morning? And more importantly, how I had more than enough to give away?"

"Well," she began, obviously the start of a long story.

"It was more of a rhetorical question," Zero stopped her.

"Please don't lock me in my room!" she burst. "It was just for fun, I promise I won't do anything like that again, so long as you let me stay there."

He lowered his eyebrows at her comment. "Why would I _lock_ you in your room?"

She tilted her head, wondering why he would ask something that seemed so familiar and obvious to her. "As punishment." She studied him for a moment as he still tried to make sense of her words. Then she asked, "Didn't your parents lock you in your room when you did something wrong?"

He sensed something was off and tried to bait her into sharing more information. "You mean for like a half-hour?"

She laughed. "A half-hour? Man, you got off easy."

He dug just a little more. "Why, how long were you locked in yours?"

"Mm, it could be weeks, depending on how much I offended my father," she answered. Then she started to read the look on his face. "...That's not normal, is it?"

Zero did not answer her question, he simply said, "Come on, you can keep sanctuary in my room," as he turned. She caught up with him, but her eyes turning down a bit as she processed. Zero decided to distract her from it. "Here," he said, pulling another book out of his front pocket, "I didn't realize your nickname was 'Jem.' The brother's name is Jem in this."

Jem took _To Kill a Mockingbird_ from his hands. As she did, she realized that whenever Zero had addressed her in the past, he had always called her 'Jemmea.' "What did you think my nickname would be? Thanks for this, by the way."

"I don't know," replied Zero. "I guess 'Mea,' if anything."

Jem thought about this for a moment. It made sense, that was the stressed part of her name, and a more common name at that. "Well, everyone seems to call me something different. You can call me Mea, if you want."

* * *

><p>When Zero came back that night, Jem was passed out on his bed, her homework in a pile on the floor, her thumb barely holding her place in her book. He found her asleep on his bed almost every night, but usually he would wake her up. He looked at her and sighed. Tonight, he just didn't have the gall to bother her.<p>

He gathered his things to shower, as he did every night before he woke her (just to let her be a little longer). When he returned, he went and sat at his desk, pulling out his homework. He saw the notes Jem had left and pulled them over to help him. He noticed that she had, again, written at the top, 'To Zero, Love Jem' as a part of her strange sense of humor, yet he knew it was also an endearment of him by her.

Soon he grew too tired to work and crossed his arms on his desk, determined to only close his eyes for a minute.

Jem woke up the next morning to find him still there. Though she was more surprised to find _herself_ still there. It was the best morning yet.


	12. Birthday

It was the last day of May, only weeks left of school. Jem was extremely antsy for the end of the day, tapping her pen and continually glancing at the clock. As soon as they were dismissed, she took off running to the spot where she would meet her favorite boy.

Zero went to meet Jem where he did every day after the switchover, but she wasn't there. He was confused by this. It had never happened before. He looked around to see if she was nearby, but she was nowhere to be found. He walked over to where he could see the rocks. She wasn't there either. Maybe she was waiting for him at the boys' dorm? She wasn't. He looked all over the place, starting to feel a little worried. However, he did not have to check every corner before he found her.

She was sitting at the top of the stairs that led to the road, on one of the thick rock rails, excitedly and anxiously kicking her feet. She seemed almost giddy.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked when he reached her.

She turned her head. "Oh, hey Zero! Sorry, I should have told you I wouldn't be meeting you today. I have plans!" she exclaimed.

"What kind of plans?" he asked suspiciously.

Just then, a car drove up and parked at the bottom of the stairs. All of Jem's attention was on it, as though she were about to burst. A boy climbed out with the same platinum hair color as hers. Even from all the way down there, anyone could still see the way he lit up when he saw his sister.

"Happy Birthday, Jude!" Jemmea shouted down excitedly.

"Happy Birthday, Jemmie!" he called back.

She promptly left her perch and ran galloping down the stairs, Jude ascending them at his own pace. Far above, Zero watched skeptically as she threw herself in her brother's arms. He lifted her off the ground, his eyes closed, her head on his shoulder. He turned about 90 degrees before he set her down and they stood back to talk to each other. "Have you been into the town here?" he asked her.

"No," she answered, smiling and shaking her head.

"Want to go see what it has to offer?" he suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," she replied.

"All right, you ready for this?" he asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe," she answered as they turned to get back in the car.

Zero watched silently from the top of the stairs, his eyebrows lowered. He had a bad feeling about this.

It was extremely late in the night, rather very early in the morning, when Jem returned. Zero had been watching for her. As soon as he saw the car lights, he went and stood spitefully at the top of the stairs, his hands in his pockets.

Jem climbed out of the car with her brother. They were both in a fit of laughter and could hardly stand. They started to stumble up the stairs, saying things that made no sense to Zero.

When they were part of the way up, Zero couldn't stand it anymore and he started to descend the stairs. When he was close, Jem looked up and saw him. "Zer-O!" she chanted. "You waiting to wish me happy birthday?"

But he didn't respond to her remarks. "It's time for you to leave," he told Jude as he grabbed Jem's wrist and turned back.

"Zero, what the hell?" Jem asked as he pulled her along the first few steps.

"Hey, you can't do that to my sister!" Jude said as he ran up in front of Zero, cutting him off.

"Oh, but you can do this to her?" Zero accused, pulling at her and bending Jem's arm so she had to stand right next to him. She still teetered a little bit, her eyes completely bloodshot.

"Look here, Orion-" Jude started to argue before Jem cut him off.

"Oh Jude, please don't call him that, it makes me really uncomfortable," Jem requested, still rocking, her eyes unfocused.

"Why?" Jude implored irately.

"Why? You know why!"

"You're not defending this guy are you?" Jude accused.

"Jude," uttered Jem, keeping her balance to take the couple steps toward him. She reached out to hug him and Zero let go of her. "I don't want the night to end like this, so let's call it a night, ok? I'm so happy to see you."

Jude glared at Zero before lowering his head to embrace his sister, twisting a little back and forth as he did. "I love you, Jemmie. I miss you."

"I love you too, Jude," she said quietly. They let go and in her disordered state she fell back a little, Zero catching her.

"Now leave," commanded Zero as he stood her up. He took her hand, leading her around her twin.

Jude watched as they left, Jem turning to look back at him. Jude resentfully turned, then slowly descended the stairs.

Zero held firm as he charged ahead, Jem struggling to keep up with him. She was constantly tripping, and only still stood because of his tight hold on her. "If only you could see yourself right now," he spat angrily. When they stepped onto the bridge to the Sun Dorm, Zero spun around. He grabbed her arm opposite to his and turned her to her side.

"Zero, what are you doing?" Jem asked as she tried to turn back, but only teetered a bit in his grasp.

"What did he give you?" Zero imposed as he reached into her pocket and took out several small plastic bags. "You have to be kidding me," he breathed

"Zero! Hey! Cut it out!" He roughly spun her and did the same thing to her other side. "Oh no, Zero. Not my cloves! Anything but my cloves, they're my favorite! It's my birthday, Zero, come on!"

He let go of her and walked hastily over to the side of the bridge. He threw all of the substances as far as he was capable, and they tumbled down into the ocean. He quickly spun around. "Why do you do this? I've come to know you, and this isn't the person you are at all! I don't understand," he yelled, more than frustrated with her.

"Because," Jem answered painfully, "Jude has been the only person in my life to ever truly care about me."

"Do you really still believe that?" Zero shouted, and Jem sensed a little bit of hurt in his question, and she was a little surprised. He turned away and barked, "Come on." She stood there for a moment, still a little stunned at what had just happened. He turned over his shoulder and demanded more fiercely, "Come _on!_"

She started to walk hastily to keep with him. As she walked, she crossed her arms over herself and cast her eyes down, ashamed.

When they arrived at the girls' dorm, he opened the door for her. "Just go to your room, I'm not walking you there tonight. I can't even look at you right now." And indeed, he looked away, refusing to cast his eyes on her. She bowed her head as she walked past him. Zero promptly shut the door when she entered before she could even turn around.

Looking at the door, she kept her body to herself, only moving one arm from its crossed state to hastily wipe a tear away. She turned and went back to her room, hoping she could do one thing right by him tonight.


	13. Apology

Jem sat waiting for Zero as she did everyday, except today she did not look for him, nor did she consume herself in a book. She simply stared at the ground, not sure if she was still allowed to wait for him.

When he saw her there, a little frustration returned. He wasn't so much mad at her anymore as he didn't know what to do with her. It was also partially due to a little disappointed in himself for the way he acted last night. When he was within ten feet of her he stopped, putting his hands in his pockets, and sighed.

She heard him and looked up. Upon seeing him, she hastily stood up, "Zero," she said before she bowed her head. "I'm so sorry for everything I did-"

"Stop," he said, "you don't have to do this."

"No," she exclaimed, "I want you to hear this. No one has ever encouraged me to be who I am before. I thought something was wrong with me, so I began to identify with the person closest to me, the only one to show me kindness, but it never felt right. I'm sorry I didn't realize you cared about me. I've been hating myself ever since last night. It made me realize just how much your opinion matters to me. I think-" She looked up. "I think you must be my friend, because I care a lot about you, too." She hesitated for a moment, giving him a moment to say something. Zero did not know how to respond, but he did realize that what she had just said meant a lot to him. She continued in his silence, "I promise I won't touch any of that again... I can't stand you being disappointed in me."

He avoided having to say anything. Instead, he told her, "I didn't know it was your birthday yesterday, but I happened to have gotten you something."

She wasn't expecting to hear this. She was expecting to angrily be told off. "Wait, does this mean we're ok?" she asked.

"Yeah," Zero sighed. "We're ok."

She was more than relieved. She couldn't help but go to him and hug him, almost wanting to cry. She was happy, but with a melancholy overtone from the emotional exhaustion of the whole thing. "Thank you," she whispered.

Zero was taken aback by this, but after a moment, literally embraced it, putting his arms around her shoulders. Then he said, "Ok, I left it in in my room."

She pulled back and turned to get her things without looking up at him, hoping he didn't notice as she wiped away her couple tears.

As they walked along, Zero asked, "What did your brother mean last night when he called me Orion?"

Jem sighed as she walked along next to him at the mention of her brother's antic. "Jude likes to think of us as the twin gods Apollo and Artemis. He actually encompasses Apollo pretty well. He is a total womanizer, extremely talented musically, and is pretty much the sun himself. He likes to think of me as Artemis, especially for her untouched quality. Though I don't totally encompass her, I can identify with her in a few ways. I would like to think of myself as my own woman, and have a relationship with the moon and find myself rejuvenated in the depths of nature, but aside from that I'm a pretty lousy Artemis."

"So, what does that have to do with my question?" Zero asked.

"Oh, right, sorry I totally forgot I was answering that. Orion was the best friend and favorite of Artemis," Jem answered. "He called you that because he thought you were acting as though you were more entitled to me than he was."

"So why did you say it made you uncomfortable, then?" he asked.

She looked at him, not knowing why he didn't already know all this. "Because Apollo kills Orion out of jealousy," she replied. "Or worse yet," she turned to look ahead where they were going, "Artemis kills him, mistakenly, but still."

"I thought the scorpion killed Orion," Zero said, revealing the little he knew about it.

"Yes, that was sent after him by Apollo," she answered as they reached Zero's room. He gave no response as he went to his desk, moving on to give her the present.

But before he did, he remembered something. "Oh, before I forget, this came in the mail for you yesterday," he said, turning back to her as she set her things on his bed. He took an envelope out of his jacket and handed it to her. She looked at it briefly before he started talking again.

"I picked this up for you," he said. She looked up as he handed it to her. "They didn't have a copy in the library, but I thought it was something you would really enjoy."

Jem took Dante's _The Divine Comedy _in her grasp and looked it over, turning it in her hands to examine as she did every book he handed her. "Thank you, I look forward to reading it," she commented. "These books really have helped with, you know, the withdrawals."

"Yeah, well, I'm off," Zero responded briefly before he stepped past her to go on patrol.


	14. Request

When Zero came back from patrol that night, he found Jem leaning against his wall, more than halfway done with the thick classic.

"What are you doing awake?" he asked surprised.

She looked up. "Zero? What are you doing back? Are you taking a break?"

He lowered his eyebrows. "Duty is over."

"It _is?_" she asked, shocked.

He looked at the book again. "Have you been reading the whole time?"

She looked down at it. "Yeah, you were right, I love it. I just started _Paradiso_." She looked back up, over at his desk. "Oh no, I forgot to copy your notes."

Zero sighed. "Or do your homework? And I bet you didn't eat either?"

"No," she confessed, then added rapidly and almost apologetically, "but I was about to any minute."

Zero sighed again, walking to his desk to gather his things. "Well get your stuff, we'll go to the kitchen and I'll make you something." She promptly did just that as he turned, knowing she had to be quick to keep up with him.

When they arrived at the kitchen, Zero set his work down on the table, then went to the cupboard. "Egg noodles work for you again?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's fine," Jem answered as she sat down at the table. She took out her notes and began to copy them as Zero prepared the food. He finished first, setting the steaming bowls down between them as Jem continued to scrawl notes. It worked out quite well, giving Zero a minute to himself and allowing her meal to cool.

She finished the notes and tore them out. "Ok, here you go," she said as she handed them to him. He had just taken a bite, and set his utensil down with one hand, taking the notes and placing them next to the noodles in front of him. She took a quick bite of hers, then reached out, grabbing her stuff and laying it before her. "Ok, let's power through this."

Zero did the same. The two sat at the table late in the night, working away. They were quiet more than half the time, but did talk to each other occasionally. Jem asking Zero to help her think about a certain question, Zero asking her to clarify something for him.

After a while, Jem looked up and over at Zero working. She took a minute to acknowledge how much she liked this. In her whole life, this was by far the best place she had ever lived. And she didn't want to leave when these next couple weeks were over. She overwhelmingly didn't want to leave.

"I'll be right back," she suddenly said to Zero. He looked up. She stood, and walked out of the room. Zero watched her skeptically. He decided he would give her a few minutes, and then hunt her down if she didn't return.

Jem found her way to the headmaster's office, not sure if he would be there, but if he wasn't she didn't have anything to lose. She knocked softly. "Yes? Come in," she heard the headmaster respond.

Again, she slowly opened the door, only enough for her to slide through. Once she entered, she saw the headmaster and another boy looking at her inquisitively. The boy had long dark brown hair and he wore a white uniform. He was a night class student, sitting cross-legged opposite the headmaster, peering at her from behind his wisps of hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jem apologized. "I didn't realize you were meeting with someone."

"No, it's quite all right," said the boy calmly and forgivingly. Something about him made Jem a little uncomfortable—something about him didn't seem sincere. He stood up, "I should be getting back to class, anyway." He turned to the headmaster, "We will continue this conversation another time."

"Yes, I will see you soon, Kaname," he replied. Kaname turned and left, walking by Jem, who stood humbly waiting for him to pass. As he passed her, his eyes narrowed. She carried a hint of Zero Kiryu's scent. He continued on his way, however, not revealing in any way that he had noticed something.

Once he left, the headmaster asked, "Jemmea, is everything ok? What brings you to my office so late at night?"

"I am sorry to bother you so late," she began, "but I have had something on my mind, and I came when I knew I had a minute, hoping you would have one as well."

"Well, what is it?" asked the headmaster, leaning back in his chair and turning it a little to the side. He added, "You can come over here to talk to me, you know. I don't bite." As soon as he said that, he realized the irony of that statement here at the academy.

"Right," she responded and came over swiftly. She sat in the chair Kaname had just been in. He had left it facing sideways, so she slid sideways into it, facing the headmaster. Her knee bumped the armrest as she kept her legs together, her feet crossing right against the front of the chair. She put her hands in her lap and tried to sit up straight. She then reached for words, not really having anything prepared. She decided to start with, "I really like it here," then paused.

"Good, I'm glad you have had such a turnaround," replied the headmaster.

"Yes, well, I was wondering if maybe, I don't know, you had any summer programs or anything?" she inquired, her face almost pleading.

"Ah, I see," he responded. "Like summer school?"

"Yes," she answered, "anything."

"Yes, well, I'm sorry to say that we don't. And even if we did, I cannot say that you would benefit from it, Jemmea. You have been doing quite well. It's just me and my family here in the summer. I am sure your family misses you and are waiting for you to return home for the summer," he went on.

Jem turned her eyes down to her hands. She didn't want to know what her father had planned for her this summer. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" he asked.

"No," she said quietly, still keeping her eyes down, "that's all, thank you for your time." She rose and walked out, solemnly.


	15. Demand

***From previously in my series, Effie is her annoying younger sister.**

Jem returned within a few minutes. Zero had been watching for her. She sank down in her seat and sighed, then went right back to work, never looking at him the whole time. Zero, however, kept his eyes on her. He could sense that something was upsetting her, anyone could have.

"Where did you go?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I just-" she sighed again. "I just went to the headmaster's office to ask if there were any opportunities for me to stay here for the summer," she disclosed.

"Are you telling me that you just asked to go to summer school?" Zero interpreted.

"Yeah," she replied, still disheartened. "I just," she shook her head, then finished quietly, "don't want to go home."

As soon as she said that, Zero was prompt to answer why in his head. Between what she had told him about her father and the episode with her brother, he didn't want her to go either, but all he said was, "Well, then all you can worry about now is getting your work done, so stop stalling," and they continued to work in silence.

After a while, he asked, "So what was the letter about?"

"Hmm?" she looked up, taking a moment to remember what he was talking about. "Oh, right, I should read that before I completely forget about it." She opened the front cover of _The Divine Comedy_ and took the envelope out, tearing it open. She began to read it hastily, but then slowed down, overcome with emotion and disbelief, holding back her tears.

Zero glanced up from his work to see if she was done reading yet. But her face was slightly pink and there were tears in her eyes. "What is it?" he asked.

She shook her head. "It's a letter from my mother," she whispered.

"Is she ok?" Zero inquired.

Jem shook her head again, "I watched her overdose and drop dead ten years ago. This is the suicide note she left for me, to be delivered to me on my 16th birthday." Zero did not know even where to begin with responding to that. But now he knew, it wasn't just something her brother did, there was so much more going on. As she shook her head and wiped her tears away, returning to her work, Zero really, _really_ did not want her to go home.

He walked her back to her room when they were done, his hands in his pockets. She was slightly better, but still very downcast. When they reached her room, he tested exactly where she was with a simple, "Good night."

"Good night," she responded. It sounded fairly normal and casual, but she still never looked at him in her sullen state. Once she disappeared into her room, Zero stared for a moment. He turned, going the back way through the headmaster's building. Zero knocked on his door and found him in his room.

"Zero?" Kaien asked, surprised. "What brings you here? Is everything ok? Are you ok?"

"I want you to find a way to keep Jemmea Pegasus here for the summer," he ordered blatantly.

"Zero, we don't really have anything here for her-" the headmaster started to say.

"Please," said Zero, "she can't go back home." Kaien Cross became silent, trying to work out what could have brought on this unusual circumstance. Zero knew he needed to bring out the big guns on this one. He took a breath, "Father, I need you to find a way to allow her to stay."

The headmaster's eyes lit and teared up. "Zero, did _you_ just call me father?" he asked. Then he cried, "Oh! How can I ignore a request from my loving son!" raising his arms to hug Zero.

"Good," Zero snapped, starting to walk away just before the headmaster could embrace him.

The headmaster regained himself as he watched Zero walk away in his usual, irritated state. He knew something was up. It was extraordinarily rare for Zero to make any sort of request. Between how Jemmea had acted earlier when she came in and Zero's insistence, and that one little phrase—'she can't go back home'—Kaien knew he had to do something. He was not one to send a child back into a bad environment. But almost more importantly, he realized that Zero may have made a friend, or at least found someone he connected with. Kaien knew that was something he needed to help maintain in any way he could.

The next morning, Headmaster Cross pulled Jemmea's file and dialed the number listed.

"Thank you for calling Industrial Illusions, this is Lydia speaking. How may I direct your call?"

"Yes, this is Kaien Cross, the Headmaster at Cross Academy. I was hoping to speak to Jemmea's father, Maximillion Pegasus," he greeted pleasantly.

"Please hold while I let him know," Lydia responded. She called up to Pegasus's office.

"Yes, what is it?" Pegasus answered.

"Sir, a man from Jemmea's school is calling requesting to speak with you," Lydia stated.

"Oh no, put him through," Pegasus grumbled in his melodramatic way. After a moment he asked, "Hello?"

"Hello, this is Kaien Cross, Headmaster at Cross Academy. Is this Maximillion Pegasus?" he asked in his friendly demeanor.

Pegasus sighed dramatically, "Yes, what has my Jemma done this time?"

"Actually," the headmaster corrected, "she is really blossoming at the school. She has come a long way, but I think she could really meet her full potential if she were to stay here for the summer. I have already spoken to her about it, and she is willing to give it a try." He leaned forward and lowered his voice, as though he were telling a secret, despite being alone in his office. "And as an aside, she and my son have become quite the little study team. With each other's support, they are fast approaching the top of their class."

Pegasus was pleasantly surprised. At first, he was a little nervous when Kaien mentioned the boy, but at second thought, he realized it was only to be expected that she would find a replacement for her brother. And the headmaster's son? It seemed she was learning how to make the proper connections to maintain a certain presence and power. Pegasus was impressed that she was doing so well and learning skills that would be useful later. "I must say I wasn't expecting this, but if that truly is the case, then of course she can stay!"

"Well," said Kaien, breathing a sigh of relief, "that is great news. We look forward to having her here this summer." They exchanged farewells and hung up.

At lunch time, Yuuki and Zero met with the headmaster for a check in. When they turned to leave, he called, "Zero, could you stay another minute?"

Zero did not look thrilled to do so, but turned back as Yuuki left, looking at him and hoping that everything was ok. "What is it?" grumbled Zero.

"Would you tell your classmate Jemmea to meet me in my office when classes finish today?"

Zero raised his head a little. "Does this mean-?"

"Yes, I talked to her father this morning," he answered before Zero could even finish the question.

Zero mustered it up in him to say, "Thank you."

The headmaster perked right up, waving his arm. "But of course, any friend of Zero's is a friend of the family!"

Zero grimaced and let out a short, annoyed breath before he turned to go back to class.

"Perhaps I overdid it a little," Kaien said to himself once Zero was gone.

* * *

><p>Jem went to the headmaster right after class, not sure what this would be about. Again, she knocked and entered hesitantly when he called her in. She stood before him patiently.<p>

"Jemmea, I have given some thought to your request," he began. She perked up a little, her hopes starting to rise. "I have never come across a student who actually wanted to stay in school over the summer, but after some consideration, I just cannot say no to such dedication."

Her eyes grew wide, "Are you saying-"

"Yes, you are welcome to stay here with me and my family over the summer."

"Thank you, thank you so much. I could hug you right now," she bowed deeply, "but I won't. You don't know how much this means to me."

Kaien Cross smiled. These were the moments every headmaster lives for. "All right then, go back to your dorm. Since it's testing time I must patrol."

"Yes, thank you again," she said before she ran off. But she did not go back to her dorm. Instead, she intercepted Zero and Yuuki as they came back to study. She practically jumped on Zero, who caught her and was able to steady her at a more comfortable distance. "Zero," she huffed, catching her breath, "the headmaster reconsidered, and I can stay over the summer!"

Zero let go of her, giving her no reply. But Yuuki had something to say. "You'll be staying here, at the academy?" she asked. She had many questions, but Yuuki did not want to seem rude, and being the kind person she was, she instead said, "Well, it sure will be nice to have another girl around."

Jem turned her head to look at the smiling girl. She didn't know how to respond to such friendliness, and had not considered that she would also be staying with Yuuki. On the bright side, she wasn't Effie. "Right," remarked Jem, not really sure how to respond.

"Well, I have to go study. I'm so far behind," commented Yuuki.

As a peace offering for the upcoming summer, and since she was in such a good mood, Jem offered, "Would you like some help?"

Yuuki looked at her, not really expecting this, but said, "Yes, that could be really helpful, so long as you don't mind."

"It will help me study, too," explained Jem as she turned to walk back with the two.


	16. Summer

Jem sat on the bridge of the Sun Dorm, her legs dangling over the water. She turned her face towards the sun, her eyes closed as the salt breeze wove through her hair.

"You're going to get a sunburn sitting in the direct sun like that. Or plummet to your death, one or the other," she heard a voice say from further down on the bridge.

She turned to look at Zero. "Oh, as though you're any better. I'm completely smothered in baby sunscreen, which is over 100 SPF, thank you very much."

"So you're greasy and sitting on a ledge, that's smart," he chastised. "Get down from there."

She sighed and turned. He took a several steps towards her, offering his hand so she didn't make that fatal slip. She took it and hopped off, then turned into another gust. "Oh, isn't it wonderful? I just love that salt air," she said, closing her eyes and turning into the wind.

"You really love the ocean, don't you?" he asked.

"No, Zero, I hate it," she replied sarcastically.

He ignored the sarcasm. "Do you know how to sail?" he asked.

"Mm-" she replied, turning to him and opening her eyes. "My nanny started to show me a little when I was young, but that was a decade ago."

"Well, would you like to learn?" he offered.

"If you're the one teaching me," she replied, raising her eyebrows.

"I'll teach you if you help me make dinner each night I do," he compromised.

"I'll help, but you'll have to teach me how to do that, too," Jem conceded.

Zero turned away and started walking, "Come on," he said over his shoulder, "the academy's marina is this way."

From the window back at the headmaster's house, Yuuki watched the two of them walk away over the bright stone bridge. If either of them were ever around anyone, it was only the other. She was happy for Zero, but she didn't understand why he was so distant with her. As she watched them, part of her felt very lonely.


	17. Midsummer

It was another beautiful summer day and Jem wanted to spend time outside. She walked through the shady wood on her way to see if Zero was at the stables again. During the day it was more likely for him to be found there as opposed to his room. She finally came across the clearing, streaming with sunlight, and turned the corner to the stalls. Sure enough, there he was.

"Hey stable boy," Jem greeted, claiming his attention. Then she saw what he was doing, "Are you going for a horseback ride?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said casually, hoisting the saddle onto the white mare. "Why, you want to come?"

"Sure," Jem responded just as the horse jumped up and started to protest.

"Easy, easy Lily," Zero eased, trying to take her face gently in his hands. "Don't worry, she will take someone else. I won't let her ride you." The horse settled down, somehow managing to give Jem the evil eye. "Here," said Zero, turning away, "you can take Lucy." Zero turned and purposefully walked down to a rounder mare.

Jem walked over when she was called, approaching cautiously. "Don't worry, she's friendly, and Lily doesn't mind her as much as she does the others." Jem slowly raised her hands. Lucy reached out her neck to her, and Jem responded by leaning back a little. Zero saw her hesitation. "Have you ever ridden before?" he asked.

"No," answered Jem, keeping her eyes fixed on Lucy.

"She wants you to pet her, Mea, that's why she's doing that. Go ahead. Talk to her," he motioned.

Jem gently put her hands on the horse. One on her face, the other on her velvet nose. "Hi Lucy, that's a nice name," she began. The horse was brown with a white diamond between its eyes. "I like your rhombus, that's pretty impressive," she complimented.

As Jem familiarized herself with the horse, Zero went and grabbed a handful of grains. "Here," he said to Jem, offering her some. He gave her half the handful. Then he held out his hand. "You feed it to her like this, just keep your hand flat," he said as he showed her, Lucy excitedly accepting the treat.

Jem then did the same thing. "It kind of tickles," she commented. From the other side of the stable, Lily snorted.

"Don't worry, Lily. I haven't forgotten about you," he said before he took another handful and went down to her. He fed her and patted her twice before he went back to Jem and Lucy. As he prepared Lucy, he explained to Jem what she would need to do once she was up there.

Zero finished and turned to her. "All right, how's the helmet?" he asked, reaching out to check it and see if Jem had done it right. "Looks good," he said. "Ok, now what you're going to do is put one hand firmly on the front and back of the saddle, get your foot in the stirrup, and hoist yourself up over," he explained.

"I'll do my best," replied Jem. She tried. "I can't reach the stirrup."

Zero sighed, putting his hands together. "Step in my hands." She followed his instruction and he lifted her as she swung her leg over. She let out a breath. "You ok up there?" he asked.

"I think so," she answered nervously.

He walked over to Lily and checked her again, then hoisted himself up. "Ok, follow us."

Jem was able to follow them through the trees. Zero was right when he said it wasn't too hard, it just took some adjusting to. After a while, Zero asked over his shoulder, "You think you can handle a trot?"

"I'll give it a try," she answered hesitantly.

"Just give her a little kick, more of a squeeze," Zero directed as he did it to Lily.

Jem complied, and soon they were both trotting through the woods, Zero and Lily slightly ahead of Jem and Lucy. That was, until a squirrel ran across Lily's path and spooked her.

Zero went flying, his body slamming hard into a nearby tree, accompanied by his cry of pain. He slid to the ground.

"Zero!" cried Jem, pulling on the reins. Lucy stopped on the other side of the now collected and concerned Lily, who was extending her nose to Zero. Jem threw her leg over and hopped down, taking her helmet off as she ran to Zero's side.

"Zero! Zero, are you ok?" she kept asking frantically as she knelt between his feet. He leaned against the tree, one hand on his blood covered arm. His head was bowed with one eye closed and the other halfway open. He grimaced and was clearly in a lot of pain. She reached out and lightly touched his seemingly good arm, leaning forward and showing her concern. "Where does it hurt?"

"I think," he started to gasp. "I think I broke my leg, and my arm is gashed," he winced. Jem looked down at his leg, and it was mangled. She didn't know what to say, there was no way she could support him, not even to get him back on the horse. But other thoughts started to consume his mind, even stronger than the pain.

As Jem looked at his leg, his focus was on where the wind brushed the hair away from her neck. He could hear her heart beat and all the blood course through her body. His breathing started to become labored. "Oh no, you're going into shock," she panicked.

"No," he grimaced. He had these thoughts before, but never an urge this strong. "Get away, you have to get away." He tried to stand up but only fell harder against the tree.

"Zero, please don't move! Calm down, I'm not leaving," she said, placing both hands on his shoulders to help steady him. "Is there anything that can help? Can you think of any natural painkillers or anything that I might be able to find? Something to slow the bleeding maybe?"

But Zero's eyes were on her neck, his thirst consuming. "Your... blood..." he whispered longingly, his eyes starting to glow a faint red. He turned his head up and grimaced again, his fangs on display. Jem saw all of this, and put it together.

"Zero, you're..." she held him back, bewildered, then whispered, "you're-" Was she really going to say this? "You're a vampire?"

Zero didn't answer, tilting his head back against the tree, then heaved, "You have- to get- away. When we're hurt- the thirst is so great-"

"...because it will heal you?" she deduced. He grimaced again, clearly in unbearable pain. Jem promptly let go of him and gathered her hair, braiding it to one side. "You can bite me," she told him.

He lowered his head again to look at her, "Mea... no... I won't," he breathed.

"You wouldn't ever do anything to hurt me. I know that without a doubt, and I can't take seeing you in this pain. So if this will really hurt me more than leaving you to die will," she leaned close to his ear, placing one hand in his hair, her neck close to his mouth, "then you won't bite me."

It was right there. Zero didn't want to do it, well he _wanted_ to, but he had promised himself he would never become this, this thing that he hated. But it was right there, and she was asking him to do it... His eyes glowed as he considered it, trying to hold back. But then she whispered, "Please, Zero. You're the only person who has ever looked out for me. You're the only friend I ever made, so please don't let it end this way. It would break my heart."

He couldn't hold back anymore, his fangs sank into her neck. She took in a short, quick breath at the initial pain, but then embraced him, her arms encompassing his shoulders and hands holding his head, softly stroking his hair for comfort. This was the first time he had bitten someone. At the sight, Lily looked up, making sure that Lucy did not notice and keeping watch for anyone who might discover them.

Zero felt her blood as it entered his body. He was surprised at how warm it was, much more than he expected. He hated himself for this, but part of him was appeased. He felt her lovingly stroke his hair and hold him, much like how a mother would. He couldn't believe that she would do this for him, that she was ok with this. But somehow she was. He remembered when she had apologized and told him that she really cared about him. Back then, he wasn't completely sold, knowing that she had something to gain out of it, but now he knew without a doubt just how much she truly cared.

Zero let go of his arm and gently pulled his hand back. He then placed his arms loosely around her. Jem felt a warm fluid on her skin that was different from her blood, and knew what it was. With one hand, she reached down and softly wiped his warm tears away. It was then that she realized just how fragile this boy was.

He let go, slowly pulling back, his eyes downcast in shame and guilt. But Jem had other concerns, "Did it work? Do you feel better?"

"Yes," he murmured, "I'll heal quickly. The pain is gone, and my arm is healing, but I am sure my leg is still broken. I still need to sit here a while and wait." He was afraid to ask the next question. "How do you feel?"

"A lot better," she answered to his surprise. He knew she wasn't talking about her physical state. She pulled off her outer shirt, then twisted and sat next to Zero, leaning against the tree. She folded her spare shirt and held it up to her neck, pressing hard. He knew that the blood would help him heal, but it was working surprisingly fast.

They sat there in silence for a moment. "Have you been like this the whole time I have known you?" she asked after a minute.

Zero knew that he owed her answers. "Yes, but I wasn't always. I was turned three years ago. It was a vampire that attacked my family, a family of hunters." Then he had a thought, "Weren't you afraid that I could turn you?"

"Honestly, it didn't cross my mind. I had other things I was concerned about," she answered. "I really thought you might die, Zero. Broken legs can be serious, and I didn't know how to help you." She turned to look at him. "I'm just glad you're ok, that there was something I could actually do." But then she saw his eyes still downcast, and remembered how he had protested. "Are _you_ ok?" she inquired.

"I've become everything I hate," he quavered. "I'm nothing but a bloodsucking monster..."

But Jem let out a sigh of relief at this. "For a second there I thought you were going to say you hated being my friend."

He turned to her, in disbelief of her whole reaction. "How can you be ok with this?" he insisted.

She looked at him, puzzled. "You did say you've been like this since we met, right?"

"Yes."

"Then... that means you're the same person?" she surmised. "So, why would I suddenly dislike you now? Jeez, Zero. You may be the only friend I've ever had, but that doesn't mean I don't know _how_ to be a friend. I'm not going to leave you just because something bad happened. Give me some credit. Besides, it just doesn't feel like you're a vampire. It's a little hard to believe as you tell me how much you hate them while we sit in the sunshine. And you're still, I don't know, _you_."

Zero had been hating himself for three years, ever since that incident. He had been afraid to get close to anyone, afraid he might hurt them, or lose them like he did his family. Afraid their disgusted reaction would make him hate himself more than he already did, confirming what a vile thing he really was. But someone had managed to get close, and he had done exactly what he had feared he would do, and she still accepted him. For the first time, he felt like he could actually be a person again. That he wasn't truly a monster.


	18. Constellations

Yuuki had been continuously staring out the window all day. Just the two of them were in a room together, Zero glancing at Yuuki out of the corner of his eye. It was night time, and her little charade was becoming too much. "Kaname Kuran is coming tonight, isn't he?" Zero asked her harshly as he watched her glance out the window again. He couldn't stand that guy, and he couldn't stand how much Yuuki loved him. He knew that she was secretly obsessed, and it made him sick to know that anyone would knowingly befriend a vampire.

"Shut up, Zero," Yuuki snapped, spinning around. Zero was, as always, offended by her defensiveness of Kaname. Yet, Zero was secretly and helplessly fond of her. He mostly attributed her acceptance of vampires to how naïve she was. But though she loved Kaname so much, as obvious as it was without her admitting to it, she never failed to stand up for Zero. She was the only one who ever had, and that couldn't help but earn her a place in his heart. She was also always pressing to look out for him, though Zero always played it off as annoying. And any time she would grab his sleeve, he would shake her off before he could read more into it.

Zero stood up to walk out as Yuuki added, "I don't understand why you're so hard on Kaname! He's a good person."

As she spoke, Zero noticed Jem far away through another window. She was on a mess of blankets and pillows under the starry summer sky. "It's none of my business how you feel about him, but I'm not going to stick around to see you throw yourself at him when he gets here," Zero huffed before he exited. Yuuki turned back, irritated and a little hurt as she again peeked out to try and catch a glimpse of Kaname.

Zero walked down to where he had seen Jem. She was in a clearing at the edge of a cliff, facing the ocean. She held a chart in her hands as she looked up at the clear sky above the sea.

"What are you doing?" Zero pried when he got close.

She turned when she heard his voice. "Oh no, you're not going to tell me to go back inside because it's dangerous, are you?"

Zero sat down a few feet away from her in the grass. "No," he conceded, looking out over the scenery.

"Good," Jem sat back against her pillows, relieved. "In that case, I'm trying to find constellations using the chart I found in this book," she explained as she opened the chart again. "Then I was just going to sleep out here."

That actually sounded like a nice idea to Zero as he felt the warm summer breeze brush across his skin. He laid back on the grass, putting his arms behind his head and stretching his legs out. "I think I'll do the same," he sighed. The way he said it almost sounded as though he was finally giving in after she had been pressuring him to do so.

She was surprised, but welcomed his company. Then she asked, "So what brings you out here, then?"

"I couldn't stand to watch Yuuki sit in the window like a pet waiting for its master to come home anymore. Kaname Kuran is coming tonight. I don't get it."

Jem remembered who he was talking about. "Ick, I came across that guy once. He made me _so_ uncomfortable."

"Really?" asked Zero, turning to her. "You're the only other person I've met to also dislike him."

"Really," she replied. "He just didn't seem... sincere. There was something so eerie about him."

Zero was happy to finally hear this from someone else, but did not want to talk about Kaname any longer. He turned back to look at the sky. "Which ones have you found so far?" he asked.

"Well," Jem began, looking up to the sky. "See those four stars there that seem to form a rhombus? Then that fifth one near it?" she asked pointing.

"Yeah."

"That's Delphinus, the dolphin. Then if you go up a bit, see the three really bright stars?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that's the summer triangle. And..." she said as she continued looking, brushing some hair out of her face, revealing her neck. The incident had only occurred yesterday. Since it was summer, Jem could not wear a scarf to help cover the bandages. Instead, she had found a thick ribbon that she had wound around her neck several times to hide the bandage.

"Take that ridiculous ribbon off," commanded Zero when he noticed it. "It's better for wounds to be exposed to the air anyway, and you shouldn't be sleeping with a ribbon around your neck."

Jem had turned to him when she heard his request. When he finished, she didn't argue. She tucked the chart between her knees and sat up, untying the ribbon. Once she had it undone, she tried to use it to tie her hair back. But, it being a silk ribbon, only slid out of her silky hair. She then made it a point to wrap it around her hair and braid it in, which did keep. Then she pulled at the bandaged. It felt wonderful to expose the wound to the fresh night air.

Zero watched the process silently, nervous to see his hideous bite mark again. But when it was revealed, it was actually halfway healed. He had built himself up for it to be horrendous, so when he saw the rather healthy looking marks, if you could call them that, he did not feel so bad. It was like a visual confirmation and hard evidence that he was not as bad as he thought he was. He moved on from the topic, looking to the sky.

"Where is Orion?" he asked.

"Orion only comes out in the winter," Jem answered. "The scorpion is out in the summer, so the myth is that Orion runs away until it is gone. But in the winter I'll point it out to you." Then they were quiet. After a minute she said, "It's the night class, isn't it? They're all vampires. They are the reason you and Yuuki are guardians." She turned to him for an answer.

There was no point in hiding it from her. "Yes, but they are not like me," he answered despicably. "They were all born vampires. They all enjoy being the beasts they are."

"Wait," Jem asked, "you can be born a vampire? Is that different somehow?"

"They are not fated to become a Level E," answered Zero, narrowing his eyes at the stars.

Jem continued to look at him when she spoke to him. "And a Level E is...?"

"A Level E is a vampire who was once a human. They devolve until their thirst for blood consumes them. They become a pure beast, the person they were devoured."

They sat in silence for a moment, then Jem said, "So it's a disease." Zero had never thought of it that way. "You have a degenerative disease." She shook her head, then laughed, "Of course, of course you have a fatal disease! This is _my_ life, isn't it?" She was not laughing out of delight, it was more as though she was yelling at the stars.

"What does that mean?" Zero asked.

"It means anything in my life that is good is too good to be true." Then she shook her head again. "I'm sorry, Zero, my problems are in no way significant to yours. It's just, you're the best person I have ever met, and this is what happened to you. And I finally made a friend, and you're telling me I have to watch you slowly go mad, turning into everything you hate?" She shook her head, more fiercely now. "No, no," she turned to look at him. "I'll do anything to keep that from happening. You can bite me whenever you want, if that will help. You don't deserve this, Zero, and I want to make things better for you as best I can. I will be your treatment, if that's what you need." They looked at each other for a moment, then she laid back down.

"Do you want a pillow or a blanket?" she asked as though everything were normal.

"I'll take a pillow, if you're offering," replied Zero, accepting both the pillow and change of mood. She handed him a pillow and continued with her chart.

"Did you ever do anything like this before you met me?" Zero asked.

"You mean like look for constellations?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Never. I told you, I thought there was something wrong with me. Now that I know that's not true, it's like I'm trying to make up for lost time, doing everything I want to do," she responded. "What do you want to do in your life?"

"I want to find a way to exterminate every one of those bloodsucking beasts," Zero spat.

"Oh..." replied Jem. "Is there anything else?"

"I'll think about that if I get there," Zero answered, ending the conversation. The two stopped talking, just appreciating the other's company.

Meanwhile, Kaname had arrived. As he and Yuuki drew back from the embrace she had flung herself into, he said, "Nice to see you again, Yuuki."

"And you Kaname. Would you like anything?" she offered.

"No, I am simply here to see you," he answered. As soon as her initial excitement wore off, Kaname sensed something was wrong. "What's bothering you, Yuuki? You can talk to me, you know."

She sighed, looking down. "I don't know, Kaname. Nevermind, it's nothing. I'm just being childish."

"No, please," replied Kaname, taking her hand and imploring her to sit down. "I want to know."

She looked up at him and then bowed her head again. "It's just, there's this girl who has been staying with us, and there's not anything wrong with her, per say, but, she and Zero... They either are alone or with one another, and it has just left me feeling lonely."

Kaname looked up as she finished, and he happened to see the two of them out the window. Even after being exposed to the summer sun for over a month, the two of them still looked like ghosts under the starlit sky. Then Yuuki added a little more cheerfully, "But, I mean, I don't anymore, now that you're here of course."

Kaname looked back down at her just in time. She looked up just a little too late to notice where he had been looking. "No, Yuuki. You never need to feel alone. I will always be there for you, when you want me."

Yuuki smiled and stood up to hug Kaname, feeling some connection after the long stretch without it. Kaname was happy to have her right there to hold, but then looked up again to study the two out the window.

Headmaster Cross had told Kaname that a girl from a bad home would be staying at the academy over the summer, but Kaname had not realized that it was the same girl who carried the scent of Zero that day. If she was causing a rift between Zero and Yuuki, then that could cause a serious problem in his ultimate plan. But for now, it was still early, and he could take this time to enjoy Zero's distance bringing Yuuki even closer to him.

* * *

><p>Two days later, Kaien Cross had Zero alone while they were cleaning up the kitchen. He looked at Zero out of the corner of his eye, then said casually, "So I have noticed Jemmea has been wearing a thick ribbon around her neck at all times recently. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"<p>

Zero took in a quick, sharp breath, surprised. Kaien turned his eyes away. "Zero, I know she must have offered. I think it is great that you have that kind of bond with someone, but I have to ask to make sure the secret of Cross Academy will be kept safe."

"I'm the only person she talks to, it will be fine," Zero spat before he stormed away, quickly ending the conversation.


	19. Rumors

"So how is your new roommate?" Zero asked the first day of school during a short break.

"Too soon to tell," Jemmea answered.

But when she went back to her room right after class, her roommate was already there. The girl was not one of the fangirls, but that meant Jem would not even get a short break after class. She would always be there.

When Jemmea opened the door, her roommate was ready. "Hey roomie! How was your first day? Mine was ok, the boy next to me kept, like, poking me. I'm not really sure what to, like, think about it..." She just kept going.

Without ever letting go of the door, Jem backed out, closing it again. She was tired, her sleep cycle was still off from the summer. She just wanted to go to sleep. Zero would likely have a lot on his hands and it would take him a while for him to finish with the girls since it was the first day of school. Jem decided to just go to him today and ask for his key.

When she approached, it was even wilder than she expected. All the new girls had gathered to see what all the commotion was about, and were all very excitable. Yuuki was trying to just focus on the worst parts of the group, but with no luck. Even Zero had to do a little more than just stand there today.

The two guardians had managed to make somewhat of a path. It was in no way enough for the night class to pass through, but worked well for just Jem. She was able to get all the way up beside the occupied Zero, and had to actually say something for him to notice her.

"Zero." He turned to look at her.

"Mea? What the hell are you doing here?" he asked. As he addressed her, a girl took a step forward, thinking he was distracted and she could get past him. He spun around. "You, get back in line!" he bellowed so fiercely that she froze, stunned, then actually ran to the back of the group, terrified and teary-eyed.

"You just made that girl cry," Jem laughed. Zero turned back to her. "So my roommate is a no-go. All she does is talk, she doesn't even breathe. All I want to do is take a nap. Can I just have your keys now?"

"Fine, here," he said, not really having the time to deal with it.

"Thanks much," she chirped before she turned away. Two of the nearby girls noticed, and being obsessed with romance, automatically made the assumption that the two of them were together, starting to whisper about it.

The two girls were not the only ones who noticed this interaction, however. Just as the gates opened, Kaname saw the keys drop into Jem's hand before she turned away.

* * *

><p>The more Jemmea thought about it, the more she realized Zero encompassed Orion pretty well. He was a hunter, he was her favorite, and the two of them were able to prove that under all circumstances, opposite genders really could have a strictly platonic relationship, even if no one ever believed them.<p>

"So what's it like, being with Zero?" two girls came up to Jem and inquired, hushed.

Jem burst, "Why does everyone think we are together?" This had been happening for about a month, ever since those girls saw her take the keys. Since all the girls were consumed by relationships and gossip at this school, they all had assumed and wanted to know, and had all gotten into her business.

"Well, because you sleep in his room every night, and only talk to him, and write him love notes, for starters. And we know you bought him a ton of chocolate last year for Valentine's day, you can't honestly still think no one has figured it out," one answered.

Jem dropped her head to her desk in despair. "Yes, you got us, we have been married for 20 years and have five _beautiful_ children."

The girls scowled, this no longer being fun without any further details.


	20. Frenzy

***Spoilers for other fics of the series in this chapter.**

Zero felt a pain in his chest and took in a deep breath, holding a hand up over his tie. Yuuki heard him and turned around. As she did, Zero quickly regained himself, not wanting her to notice.

"Zero?" she asked. "Are you ok?" It was just the two of them in the dark, duty close to being over.

"I'm fine," he spat, but she could tell he was clearly not, despite his best efforts.

"You can talk to me, you know," she said hopefully.

"There's nothing to talk about," Zero grumbled, turning away. "Duty is over, I'm going to bed."

"Well, goodnight!" Yuuki called after him. She held a closed hand up to her chest, a little worried about Zero, but also slightly hurt that he insisted on being so distant with her. As he walked away, Yuuki turned back to look at Kaname again, standing by the window and attentive to the lesson.

Zero made it back to his room, stumbling through the door and continuing to hold onto the knob for support. He brought his other hand up to cover his face, then he separated his fingers and peered out with glowing red eyes. He saw Jemmea on his bed, sleeping on her side as she usually did. He closed the door.

Before he had always tried to hold back, but he remembered back to the first time he bit her, the only time. She had not minded, and it did not seem to really affect her. He remembered how she had been more concerned about him, how she did not seem to suffer when he bit her, but rather did seem to suffer from emotional distress when she saw him in pain. His chest throbbed again. Though he did not want to do this, the previous experience made it that much harder to resist.

He slowly walked towards her, considering it. When he finally stood beside her, he looked down, her neck exposed and right there. He would have been able to fight it more if he had more negative consequences to sway him, but he was finding it hard to come up with many since he knew what her argument would be. There wasn't enough to keep him back. He slowly leaned down, climbing over her.

He put one of his knees behind hers, then one hand on her arm. With the other hand, he brushed her hair up off her neck, then held his hand against the side of her head.

She woke up as he took his position. "Zero...?" she asked groggily. She tried to turn her head to see him, but she couldn't, his hand holding her back. She could not see that it was really him as his teeth sank into her neck. She gasped at the pain and as a reflex tried to push him away with her arm, not being able to know it was him and still a little disoriented as she had just woken up.

But Zero only held her down, overwhelmed by the sweet taste of blood. The bite did not last long, and he stopped soon after, easily appeased. He slowly rose above her, licking his lips and looking down at her. As he rose, his hold on her lessened, and she was able to turn her head and look up at him. She saw him, still looking down at her, his eyes still glowing as he slowly pulled off her.

Meanwhile, the night class was suddenly very attentive. One by one they started to look up, then at each other. "I smell blood," one said.

"I do, too," another confirmed. Some eyes started to glow as the night class started to get worked up, hungry and deprived of human blood for so long. Kaname also smelled the blood. A few of his elite aristocrats noticed there was something different about it, but only Kaname knew what it was.

He raised his head, then directed to two of his nearby loyal followers, "Seiren, Ruka, go close the doors. Now." Without a word they obliged. Kaname turned to Ichijou, then said more loudly so others could hear, "I want a full attendance of the night class taken right this minute."

"Of course, Lord Kaname," replied Ichijou before turning to the crowd.

"Settle down, everyone," Kaname commanded, and they were quick to heed his words.

After a few minutes, Ichijou reported, "Everyone is here and accounted for."

This was just as Kaname suspected. "Good," he said. "A day class student must have cut themselves." This was the reason he gave, but he knew better. As the night class students settled back in, Kaname turned to look over his shoulder.

With his keen vision, he was able to see Zero walking her across the courtyard of the Sun Dorm as she pressed a hand to her neck. Kaname now knew that Zero had not only made a friend, but found a source of blood, and not just any blood: dragon's blood. That arrangement ultimately put Yuuki in a great deal of danger. Kaname now had no choice but to do something about it.

When class was over, Kaname went to the headmaster's office alone. The headmaster was asleep in his room as Kaname pulled Jemmea's file. Sitting down at the headmaster's desk, he leaned back as he opened the file. He crossed his legs and leaned to one side, his hand supporting his head. Once he saw the number, he reached out and dialed.

"Yes, who is this?" Pegasus demanded groggily.

"Is this Jemmea's father?" Kaname asked.

"Yes, who is this?" Pegasus asked again, now with more fervor.

"I regret to be the one to inform you that Cross Academy is not how it may seem. Your daughter is in a great deal of danger." This was all Kaname had to say before he hung up, not giving Pegasus the opportunity to ask for more information. Kaname sat back, leaning to one side of the chair. Now it was only a matter of time before this took care of itself.


	21. Doomed

***For those of you not familiar, her father has a golden eye that can read minds. Yep.**

Jem sat in class, leaning on her desk, her neck aching a little. She looked over at Zero, who was currently awake. She remembered last night, how she had woken up to him. This bite was different from the first. It was more... violent.

That was not the problem Jemmea had with it, though. She was glad Zero had come to her when he needed it, but the way he did it just did not seem like him. She felt this must be because he was getting worse. He had not said how long it would take or how quickly he would become a Level E, and now she was worried it had already begun.

Zero was actually having a good day, feeling much better and more like a person again. However, he noticed something was wrong when he met Jem after the switchover. Her eyes were downcast and her hand over the spot where he had bitten her. He noticed she was reading _The Divine Comedy._ Again.

"Hey," he said, causing her to look up. She was quiet, so he had to ask. "Did I hurt you last night?"

Jem didn't know what to say to Zero. She wanted to ask him about it, but knew he didn't want to talk about it. She also knew it was important to not make any kind of deal out of it, knowing now how fragile he was.

She shook her head, looking back down at the ground, still worried. "No, it's fine," she replied as she stood up.

They walked quietly back to the dorm. He kept glancing at her, but she never looked at him. By the time they reached his room, she still hadn't said anything. "So I'll be back later," Zero mentioned, standing in the door as she sat down on his bed.

"Yeah," she nodded, "have a good night out there."

Zero kept his eyes on her as he closed the door, looking down only when it had pushed her out of view. He pocketed his hands, still looking down for a moment, thinking, then went out to rejoin Yuuki.

That night on patrol, the way Jem had acted was on his mind. Before, everything had been fine, but after this time, he may have been too rough with her. He may have very well scared her. He thought about how she wouldn't meet his gaze, and now started to worry that she was having second thoughts about allowing him to bite her. This ate at him. He had gained a sense of confidence and self-worth again with Jemmea, but now that was starting to crumble a bit. He decided to try and push it out of his mind and just ask her about it when he saw her later. But he never had the chance.

Partway through the night, a limousine pulled up accompanied by another black car. A man with long, silvery hair climbed out with his handful of goons. Pegasus was not happy, and his men followed him as he went directly to the headmaster's office.

Pegasus barged into Kaien's office, surprising the headmaster. "May I help you?" Kaien asked.

"I received a phone call. Why is my Jemma in danger?" Pegasus demanded.

"Ah, you're Jemmea's father. Mr. Pegasus, it's nice to finally meet you in person, but I am not sure what you are referring to exactly-" Kaien said as Pegasus looked past his words, using his golden eye to look into his mind. He saw it. The horrors of vampires. He now knew and saw that the headmaster was harboring many vampires at the school, separate from the humans, except for one. The one he had adopted as his son. Then he saw the memory from when Kaien first noticed Jemmea's ribbon, how he had made the connection, and how his son had confirmed it.

"You liar," Pegasus snarled, cutting him off. He then looked once more to see where she might be. "I can see right through you. How dare you keep my daughter here when you knew. How dare you keep her here just so your son could feed off of her."

"How did you-? No, that's not-" Kaien started to protest.

"I am taking my daughter back tonight, and I suggest you don't stand in my way if you don't want me to do anything more," he threatened.

He ordered Croquet to take half the men and go to her room, and if she wasn't there, gather her things and go back to the car. He took Kemo and the other half with him, going to the place that he was regrettably more likely to find her.

Kaien sat back in his seat, feeling defeated as he knew what this meant for the two involved, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Kemo broke open the door, waking up Jem. She looked up, and as he moved out of the way she saw her father standing in the doorway. His hands were on his hips and his eyes were close, then he looked up, lifting his head slightly.

"Daddy?" Jemmea cried. "What are you doing here?"

Kemo pulled her up and urged her on. "Come on girly, time to go."

"No!" she pleaded. "I don't want to go!"

"Jemma, honestly, I don't want to hear it. I come all the way here to find you asleep in some boy's bed? I'm sending you to charm school, obviously you need to learn some decency," Pegasus snapped as Kemo pushed her towards him.

He made her trip her way to stand before her father and she yelped the whole time. But once she stood before him, she was quiet, not lifting her head to look at him. Her father reached out, untying the ribbon around her neck. She reached up to stop him, but Kemo caught her hand before she could. As the ribbon fell, Pegasus slipped his hand under her hair, pushing it aside as he got a hold on the bandage.

"Daddy, no!" Jemmea cried, then Pegasus ripped the bandage off and there was nothing she could do.

He let out a disgusted breath when he saw the marks. "So it's true," he breathed, then looked at her and said firmly, "We're leaving, and we're leaving without another word from _you_." Pegasus turned and started to walk back the way they came, Kemo pushing Pegasus' protesting daughter along. Jem didn't know why he was here or how he could have known about this. She assumed he had just come to pull her out for the sake of it and found a reason only when he arrived.

The men gathered around her as she was escorted away. When she reached the limo and the door was opened for her, she turned back to look at the academy. _Zero_, she thought. Tears came to her eyes. She was being taken away right when he was starting to get worse, and there was no one left to help him. She was leaving him to die, or worse... and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Get in," Kemo urged, pushing her forward as she nearly stumbled into the limo.

Atop the school, Zero watched silently. He saw the group of men surrounding her, the ones she had called to come safely escort her away. He had made her feel like she was in danger. At least, that was how Zero saw it as the wind pushed his hair and tie to the side, his clothes rustling and hands at his sides. He just watched as the door closed behind her. She could not even face him, he had wronged her so terribly that she left as quickly as she could. He wasn't ever worth saying goodbye to. And that was it. It was clear to him now. He could no longer try to convince himself that he was, or ever could be, anything more than a monster.

**First unhappy ending I have written, but remember this takes place right before the cannon! Next it goes into the material we all know and love, and ****I kind of like to think this story even better helps to explain why he acts in the extreme way he does in the cannon, though you all would have a better perspective on that! Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed and everyone who will review, it means a lot! I hope you enjoyed this, and for those of you who read my series, you will discover that it does not end at this. She next sees Zero in the next fic of my series, titled Until He Had It All, in the chapter "Bloodletting." For those of you who want it, here's a little snippet:**

Then her eyes started to tear and she ran to me, grasping me around my whole body, tighter than I had ever experienced before, certainly tighter than was comfortable. She trapped my arms, and shaking, sobbed over and over again, "I thought you were dead too!" and "They gave you back, they gave you back!" I tried to move my arms around to comfort her as far as her grasp would allow.


End file.
